March 19 in Valparaiso

I'll be on the program in nine days at the Northwest Indiana Genealogical Society meeting at the public library. C'mon down and say hello if you're within a few hundred miles ;-)

Saturday, March 19, 2011
The March meeting will take place at 10:00 am at the Porter County Public Library, Valparaiso Branch, located at 103 Jefferson Street, Valparaiso, Indiana [map]. Join us as Harold Henderson, professional genealogist, will speak on "Proving Stubborn Name Changing Ancestors."

It's a case study about when we can consider that something is proved -- original title "Are We There Yet?"

Guardians and Nurses in Northwest Indiana

The seemingly indefatigable Northwest Indiana Genealogical Society has just put up two new 20th-century databases in its online archives section:

Guardian Bond Books, Lake County (1919-1934)

Register of Trained Nurses, Lake County

Each database is prefaced by a full explanation of how it came to be, how the original records were created, and where they can be found.

Methdology Monday with a reminder about unusual sources

Sally Phillips gave a presentation on "little used sources" at the Northwest Indiana Genealogical Society meeting this weekend, with lots of sprightly examples. Have you used yearbooks? Newspapers for more than just vital records? Censuses for more than just the obvious questions in the population schedule, including the fantastically detailed agricultural schedules for 1850, 1860, 1870, and 1880? Letters, diaries, and journals? Newsletters? City directories? (You may be surprised at how small a place supported the occasional city directory.)

In this vein I also call to mind Paula Stuart Warren's presentation at FGS on school records, of which there are more kinds than you ever dreamed.

With the exception of some digitized newspapers and city directories and letters, these sources are not as easy to locate, and not always as easy to use, as the more familiar ones. But they are worth the trouble. I once encountered an entire page that my grandmother had written about the value of studying mathematics, when she was a young woman teaching it in high school in northern Illinois.

33,000 Marriages in Lake County, Indiana

That's the gift to researchers from the Northwest Indiana Genealogical Society. The index is unusually comprehensive, including the name of the marrying official (and religious denomination when available), and of course a link to order the original document to be sure everything is well transcribed. Indexing, a major volunteer project coordinated by Marlene Polster, is ongoing, as they are up to book 23 (which includes marriages from 1914) but aiming for 1920 (books 40-41). Hat tip to the Indiana Genealogical Society blog, which keeps up with lots of local events and queries that I don't, so you should go there!

Indiana's Marriage Mill and more

The Northwest Indiana Genealogical Society (Lake and Porter counties in the upper left-hand corner of the state) has published two new books:

Crown Point Justices of the Peace Marriages. Crown Point is the county seat of Lake County, but don't click away just because you think you have no research targets there. NWIGS volunteers were surprised to find that they indexed more marriages of people from Illinois than from Indiana here between 1935 and 1946. All amorous couples needed was a marriage license from wherever they lived, and until 1940 Lake County required no waiting period. 1100 pages. (Hat tip to the Indiana Genealogical Society blog.)

An Index of Land Transfer Records for Crown Point, Lake Co., Indiana, for the Years 1928-1940 -- including the key numbers you'll need at the Recorder's office for 1936-1940 deeds if you find something promising.

These books look like solid work and they're priced accordingly. You may want to recommend that your own library consider purchasing them.